So what's with all the Kits? Apple has been giving developers access to Kits (a play on SDK, or software developer kit) so they can build apps on top of new platforms. Considering how easy it is to chalk up part of the success of Apple mobile products to third-party apps, the move to open up more platforms to the developer community is a way to grow its ecosystem — and see what works (and what doesn't).

"Appealing to app developers broadens the appeal of the Apple hardware and expands the potential reach for its products by providing a new revenue stream for developers," Jonathan Collins, principle analyst at ABI Research, told Mashable. "These kits make data from a new range of sensors embedded in communicating devices available to apps, without the need for developers to learn or re-invent how to get that data from the sensors themselves."

But Apple is still steering the ship, controlling, managing and monetizing those apps behind the scenes. . It's also bringing data to apps in a standardized way.

"With Kits, Apple is trying to provide the foundation to draw developers into supporting Apple’s play in its emerging categories, like with HealthKit and health monitoring data," he added.

While HomeKit and HealthKit may be the two most recognizable Kits right now, thanks to Apple's greater push into smart home and health, let's take a look at all the Kits Apple has to offer:

HomeKit

Image: Mashable, Lance Ulanoff

HomeKit is Apple's smart home framework that makes sure various products in the home work together, streamlining the communication between an iPhone and a home device. HomeKit-enabled products such as lights, garage doors, thermostats and security cameras will eventually "talk" to each other (i.e. when the garage door closes on your way to work, the home knows you're gone and lowers the thermostat to save you money). As of now, only five products have announced launch dates for this summer, but Apple promises more are coming soon. Meanwhile, there's no indication that there will be an Apple Home app to act as a centralized hub to control all HomeKit devices.

HealthKit

Image: Mashable, Elizabeth Pierson

HealthKit is Apple's iOS-based platform for tracking personal health data. While HealthKit is the backbone for developers, a user-facing hub called the Health app pulls in data from other third-party apps, such as Nike, MyFitnessPal, Jawbone and various hospitals. This means you keep all of your workout data, food logging and medical records in one central spot on your mobile device.

ResearchKit

Apple's ResearchKit platform allows developers and researchers to learn more about patient diseases and conditions, like Parkinson's and diabetes. Announced in March, ResearchKit collects data from patients who opt in via the iPhone. People with certain conditions can participate in clinical studies and surveys (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.) that can be evaluated and analyzed by medical researchers. To do this, though, developers must build ResearchKit into their existing apps. The goal is to ultimately improve patients' health and the ability to care for them.

WatchKit

Image: Mashable, Elizabeth Pierson

WatchKit is the backend platform that supports Apple Watch software and allows developers to create smartwatch apps. In addition to building programs and features, developers can customize ways to implement audio and video, recording functionality and user interfaces. There's also the ability to add haptic feedback and sync it up with other platforms such as HealthKit to bring in heart-rate and health data.

ClockKit

The newly-announced ClockKit framework — which is coming to iOS 9 this fall — will allow developers to create custom clock faces and add certain features like the ability to get updates directly via the clock face throughout the day.

PhotoKit

Yes, there's a Kit for photos, too. PhotoKit gives APIs for app developers looking to integrate with photos and videos. A new feature now developers to give users access to directly edit photos from within the Camera roll.

CloudKit

CloudKit lets developers secure and retrieve app data from iCloud. The framework adds authentication, private and public databases, and structured and asset storage services to apps. There's also a way to build a web interface that gives users access to the same data as your apps to make platforms that work together better.

MapKit

MapKit lets developers get creative with maps by calling out certain spots and adding pins. When iOS 9 launches this fall, it's also possible to add in public transit directions or flight data within apps.

SceneKit

SceneKit is all about adding super powerful graphics (like 3D images and 3D animated scenes and effects) to apps. Think adding gravity, body collisions and tiny details to an app that are helped along by enhanced graphics.

SpriteKit

The SpriteKit works hand in hand with SceneKit, but with a focus on building 2D games that don't drain your battery.

GameplayKit

Game developers have a lot of new tech tools to play with when iOS 9 debuts. For example, the newly-revealed GameplayKit helps apps handle game logic and "lets you map real-world behavior on game characters."

ReplayKit

ReplayKit lets developers edit, record content and quickly share gameplay videos, all within the app.

While these Kits don't apply to every developer, there's one clear takeaway: Apple is working hard to get developers working on the next big software thing — supported, of course, by one of its many platforms.

Mashable
is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe.